The Role of the Existing Tax System of Ghana towards Its Economic Growth

Background: Tax revenues are major ways of maintaining and facilitating economic growth and societal well-being of governments worldwide. Ghana’s revenue collection is oversighted by the Ghana Revenue Authority through three main tax categories: direct taxes, indirect taxes and customs taxes. Recent legislative acts and digitisation efforts have been adopted in Ghana's tax system to facilitate tax collection. The present study analyses Ghana's current tax structure and how it affects the country's economic development. Methodology: The study employed the convergent mixed method design. Quantitative data was recorded from 110 Ghana Revenue Authority staff and analysed using linear multiple regression of SPSS version 26. For the qualitative method, peer-reviewed articles in English published between 2019 and 2023 were explored from the Google Scholar, Research Rabbit and Research Gate databases—a systemic search generated seven (7) publications for review. Findings: The findings highlighted the effects of tax collection and evasion on the country’s economic development. Although taxes improve economic growth, excess taxation compounded with an increase in informal economic activities weakens the country's economic growth. Conclusion: Trends regarding Ghana’s taxation methods, effects of revenue taxation on economic development, and recommendations for future research were discussed in this review.